Beginner Mushroom Grow Kit - Fruit In The Bag
First off, thanks for choosing MycoPunks! These instructions will help you get the most out of your beginner grow kit - if you have an Easy AF (All-In-One) Grow Kit, you can find those instructions here.
What's in the Beginner Mushroom Grow Kit?
Included:
- 1kg of sterile grain
- 2kg pasteurised CVG substrate
- Gloves in your size
- Some wipes (one for the bag, one for your hands)
- A laccy bando
- Paperclips
- A sticker to place upon your vehicle, laptop, fridge freezer, body or wherever.
Not Included:
- Gourmet Liquid Culture (LC) or Multi Spore Syringe (MSS)
- A small porcelain figure of a cat toying with a mouse
- Sad feelins
- Guaranteed success when using spore syringes (Why tf not?)
Wipe for ur grotty hands
Just a nice cloth to clean off your hands before you start work on inoculating the grain.
Sterile grain of your choice
1kg of your sterile grain of choice. Food for your mycelium to dine on.
Pasteurised CVG substrate
The final substrate where your mushrooms will be grown. It's made of coconuts, vermiculite and gypsum.
Sticker
Sticky on the back, you get a sticker. It probably won't be this specific one. But it will be a sticker which is sticky.
Wipe for the inoculation
Little wipe, to wipe down the injection port on your bag before you knock the bag up.
Stage One: Inoculation & Incubation
Step 1: Clean surfaces
Using 70% isopropyl or surface bleach spray, wipe down your work surface.
Spray onto a paper towel rather than spraying directly on to the surface.
Step 2: Wipe the injection port
Using the small wipe included in your kit, wipe down your injection port.
Step 3: Inject 2ml
Carefully remove the lid of your syringe and push the needle through the injection port.
Inject 2ml of your liquid culture or MSS.
Step 4: Find a warm spot
Now we let our mycelium grow. Incubate your bags upright without obstructing the filter.
Try not to disturb the bag, let the mycelium consolidate and start to grow. Don't use a heat mat - use ambient heat only!
Stage Two: Patience...
How long is this gonna take?
Hardest part for most of us is the waiting around. Maybe rewatch Sopranos or something or write a nasty letter to your local MP?
Don't mess with the grain, leave it be.
If you used spores...
Spores need to meet up and germinate before they start to throw ropes forth into your grain bag.
Expect around 14 days before first signs of mycelium. Could be longer!
If you used Liquid Culture...
You legend! Most of the time, you should see some growth pretty quickly (depending on species/culture quality). It's already growing so it's quicker.
Expect from a few days to 10 days.
Need support along the way?
Things don't always look exactly as expected, if you want some advice or second opinions on anything at all, you can get help from our team and the community!
Stage Three : Grain Spawn
Step 5: 20% colonisation
When your grain looks around 20% colonised you can speed up the process by redistributing that mycelium to the rest of the bag.
Step 6: Break and shake time
Carefully (don't damage the bag), but firmly, break up the colonised grains until they are all separate, then shake the bag up to mix it all together.
Step 7: Back into incubation
That break and shake should have substantially speed up the colonisation process. In a day or two you should be ready!
FULLY COLONISED!
The hardest bit is done. Your grain spawn is done. Ensure the grain is fully colonised... uncolonised grains are the most common cause of contamination.
Stage Four: Grain To Substrate
Step 8: Break up your mycelium
Again... carefully (don't damage the bag) but firmly break up the colonised grains until they are all separate, then shake the bag up to mix it all together.
Step 9: Open your grain bag
Cut the top off your grain bag. As long as everything was fully colonised contamination won't be an issue - the mycelium has hogged all the nutrients.
Step 10: Open your CVG
Cut off the top of your CVG bag, trying to keep the cut level with the seal.
Step 11: Add spawn to sub
Pour the entire bag of grain spawn into your substrate bag. Try not to spill it everywhere.
Step 12: Prepare for shake
Fold down your bag three times and then fold in on itself to prevent spillage during the shake.
Step 13: Thoroughly mix
Mix the living SHIT out of the grain spawn and substrate. The better mixed the quicker the last stage of the process.
Step 14: Paperclips
Fold down the bag once and use paper clips to lightly seal the bag.
Your substrate bag might have the new long horizontal white filter.
Step 15: Elastic Band
Stretch the elastic band over your bag around 1-2 inches below the surface of the substrate. This discourages mushrooms from growing on the sides of the bag.
Step 16: Tamp me, daddy
Gently flatten out the substrate surface using your hands (outside of the bag) to maximise the surface area available for mushroom growth.
Step 17: Back into incubation
Now we wait until the substrate is fully colonised.
This stage takes around 3-4 days if you mixed your bag very well.
Stage Five: Fruiting Mushrooms!
Ready for fruiting!
When your substrate has fully colonised we are ready to initiate fruiting of the mushrooms!
Keep your bag fully extended upright with the paper clips on with the white filter patch free of obstructions.
This stage is just about maintaining good environmental conditions inside the bag.
Step 18: Fruiting Conditions
Bring your bag out in to indirect light (on a shelf is fine).
Room temperature is fine in the UK & Europe during mild months.
Once per day open the bag to introduce fresh air.
There should be condensation on the inside of the bag, if it's dry in the mornings mist the inside of the bag with some water.
Step 19: Surface Conditions
Photo above shows nice conditions for therapeutic mushrooms.
The little white dots are called hyphal knots, these will change into little mushroom primordia and then into mushrooms.
Once you see the hyphal knots, in around a week you should see mushrooms growing, they'll start off small but very rapidly increase in size if all is well.
You've grown your own mushrooms!
